Peace-Loving Muslim Located; Expresses Normal Human Concerns

Noting the way violent and irrational Muslims have dominated the news, while the Muslim masses and, most inexcusably, Muslim clerics have in general remained reticent about the scandalously murderous terrorist talk and the mayhem the lunatics advocate, we decided there must be, among the world's billion or so Muslims, any number of normal, peace-loving and, on a wild bet, perhaps even modern-minded, acolytes. So we began our tireless search to see if we might find such a rare and wonderful countercurrent to the tide that is sweeping the Muslim religion ever more beyond the shoreline of what sane and civilized people consider blessed.

We're delighted to tell you that, after an extensive search, we were, in fact, able to locate at least one such exceptional and distinguished soul. Obviously, there may be others out there, but they're just not being visibly vocal, unless, of course, a cartoon shows up that they decide is offensive.

Where, you may ask, did we find our prize Muslim? Why, in the most appropriate of places – at Ground Zero, where he is employed as an engineer, working on rebuilding the area after the murderous and damnable crimes of 911. He invited us to meet him on the job, just so we could confirm with our own eyes that a Muslim would be involved in such a noble and redemptive construction process.

The following recounts our entirely delightful and encouraging interview with him, which, we hope, inspirits all to think the better of Muslims in general and, most especially, to persuade many another Muslim to follow in his savingly enlightened footsteps.

NewsLaugh: According to the questionnaire you were kind enough complete, you're a peace-loving Muslim?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Yes, I am.

NewsLaugh: Good for you. We also understand you're modern-minded.

Peace-Loving Muslim: I am, indeed.

NewsLaugh: Glad you meet you.

Peace-Loving Muslim: Glad to meet you, too.

NewsLaugh: Are you the only peace-loving and modern-minded Muslim or do you think there might be others?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Oh, there are millions of them, I assure you.

NewsLaugh: Really? Why don't we ever hear from them?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Because peace-loving people usually don't make news. They wake up and do things like go to work and feed the kids.

NewsLaugh: Yes, of course. We're familiar with such activities ourselves. But why do Muslim clerics so seldom speak out about all the violent activities perpetrated in the name of Islam?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Some do, but I agree, they should be more out there. But you must understand that, since they are peace-loving, they might never shout as loud as Muslims – and I I even hesitate to call the most violent ones by the term Muslims – who aren't. If you'll notice, crazy people generally scream, while peaceful people are more like to carry on a conversation, like this one.

NewsLaugh: Yes, of course. But do you think some of them quietly suspect that the monsters perpetrating these crimes are on the side of Allah?

Peace-Loving Muslim: I hope not. I can't imagine a truly religious person seeing Allah as being on the side of murder. But, of course, you have to allow for all possibilities. My own Muslim cleric is a very peaceful fellow who thinks that Osama and his cronies are madmen who are damaging our religion inexcusably.

NewsLaugh: Bless his insightful butt.

Peace-Loving Muslim: I'll let him know you said that.

NewsLaugh: Where were you born?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Pakistan.

NewsLaugh: Oh, where Osama Bin Laden is supposedly hiding out.

Peace-Loving Muslim: I prefer to think of it as the country where President Mushararf is doing everything he can to help the US catch him.

NewsLaugh: Good point. You're an engineer?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Yes, I am.

NewsLaugh: I suppose that means you've read a number of books besides the Koran. How did you manage to pull that splendid achievement off

Peace-Loving Muslim: Well, I felt Allah gave me a brain, so He wanted me to use it. I was always good at math. There's not a lot of math in the Koran. So I guess it didn't interest Mohammad much. But even an elemental look at nature reveals that Allah works with math in ways that are so sophisticated everything happens in perfectly natural ways. The math never gets in the way; it accommodates all events, like the perfectly natural movement of waves. We should only know as much about math as Allah.

NewsLaugh: Well, to tell you the truth, there's not that much math in any religious book I can think of. But that's another interview. How did you become peace-loving? Reading the papers and watching the news, one gets the idea that Muslims, in general, are all a pretty violent and backward lot.

Peace-Loving Muslim: A lot are, I admit it. But that's because a lot of them have erroneous ideas. I can't say they have erroneous knowledge, because I don't believe there is such a thing as erroneous knowledge. I also don't believe a lot of knowledge is necessary to be peace loving. My parents, who have very little education, are very peaceful people. So it's not a matter of education. It's a matter of outlook. Either you think you serve Allah by killing other people or by loving them. I prefer the latter, and I think Allah prefers my conduct for that and, if He has prepared a paradise for us, peace-loving behavior is the most likely way to get there.

NewsLaugh: Well, it seems like a more logical approach, expecially since Allah or God by any other name made us all. How did you become modern minded.

Peace-Loving Muslim: Well, it was pretty easy. I grew up with my eyes and ears open. While the world around me was often backward, I knew about the world outside. I decided if it's modern, that's part of the potential Allah put in it, so I ought to adjust to it and, in fact, do my own best to help move it along. I think the modern world has blessed life with such inarguable enhancements as antibiotics and air conditioning.

NewsLaugh: What do you think the chances are that other Muslims will start to think like you?

Peace-Loving Muslim: Well, it depends on what they hear the loudest; the outside world, ranting at each other, or their inner voice telling them that they're part of the whole, and, if they want to find a welcome place in the whole, they have to become a peaceful part of it. I think they also have to understand that Muslims running around blowing other people up are acting as if Muslims don't have lives or property that can also be blown up. This is one reason why their actions are harmful. Every time a Muslim blows something or somebody up, we wonder how long it will be before non-Muslims decide to teach us that such behavior is not a one-way street.

NewsLaugh: Yes, we wonder about that, too, It seems to us that the world has been pretty tolerant so far.

Peace-Loving Muslim: To paraphrase you, bless their butts. Yet I can't tell you how much fear peace-loving Muslims live in that the behavior of violent Muslims will result in damage to the nonviolent ones and their property.

NewsLaugh: Well, it's certainly a pleasure to meet you. We're glad to know that there is at least one peace-loving and modern-minded Muslim in the world. It gives us hope. May your way of thinking spread.

Peace-Loving Muslim: If it doesn't, I may decide to become a Buddhist. I've been reading about their beliefs, and, if you have to believe in an ancient religion to make peace with life, it seems like a pretty good option.

Newslaugh: Well, it certainly is a more peaceful choice. We'd don't hear of many Buddhists blowing up non-Buddhists. Whatever you decide, we wish you luck.

Peace-Loving Muslim: Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to rebuilding Ground Zero, It's one of the ways I hope to make up for what Muslims who have shamed other Muslims have done.

Making Sure You Buy The Right Bar Stool

There are a number of things that need to be well thought-out when browsing for any new bar stool acquisitions. When buying a bar stool the main consideration is going to be the price, this is important for any bar owner or home bar stool buyer.

Durability in a bar stool is important as I am you know a bar stool will take some abuse over time. Then there's the importance of picking a style that is a good match for the rest of the establishment's décor. Then is there is the matter of redecorating, when the urge to redecorate comes around you will want a bar stool that will fit in to in back ground this again has the added advantage of not limiting your options.

If you plan to purchase bar stools in vast quantities the best plan of action is to go on the internet and search to bulk buying deals, this will prove far more fruitful as many furniture and bar stool suppliers would not be able to give you a good deal. Competition is ferocious between the entire bar stool sellers on the Internet, so getting a really good deal is no problem.

Finding a good bar stool site wont be a problem as there are so many to choice from, but always try to shop from the most trusted site that offer a way to email in case there is a problem with the order, looks for sites that have been around for a while and have a good customer service record like marios-bar.com, sites like these were you know there wont be any shady business.




Commercial stools take a beating, especially in busy bars and pubs. Most patrons don't think about how they treat the seats, so over time you can count on lots of abuse. You'll want bar stools that can handle it. Look for hard metals or thickly varnished woods, as well as seats that are easily and inexpensively repaired when they inevitably get worn down or tear open.

You'll want your establishment to be visually attractive, of course. It's easy to overlook the importance of procuring bar stools that complement the rest of the décor, especially the tables or bar counters they'll be used with. Neutral colours are a good idea. Avoid stools that use colours that are too bold and eye-catching, unless this is the theme you are planning to pull off.

Keep in mind that your business is likely to undergo décor changes from time to time. Unless you don't mind investing in new bar stools each time there's a change, try to find a set that is versatile enough to change with the interior design scheme. It may be hard to anticipate each change, but if you choose stools with neutral colours in traditional designs, your chances are good of being able to keep them for years to come.

Outdoor Kitchen - The Dynamics of Taking Your Cooking Outside!

The kitchen is typically an indoor part of our house; this is the haven where we prepare our meals throughout the days, prepare foods for the family to feast on during the holidays and other occasions or sometimes even share each other's story. The kitchen is typically comprised of different kitchen utensils, stocks used for food preparations, kitchen tools and cooking wares, etc.

Over the years, kitchen designs have revolutionized and options on things you might include in your kitchens have change. Modern designs and kitchen models have been made available nowadays for those who want to improve their cooking experiences in their kitchens. Outdoor kitchen has been one of the most exciting innovations that had happened in kitchen designs; allowing as many possibilities in designs and accommodations as may imagine.

Today, you may find most average home having outdoor kitchens fitted for a more enjoyable feasts preparations or even entertaining guests. You are mostly to find several varieties of outdoor kitchen designs; such mostly depends on the choices of the kitchen owners and their needs. You can have an outdoor kitchen fitted in your own homes too! No need to worry about spaces as most outdoor kitchen don't require much of it; another thing is that there are no limit on what you want your outdoor kitchen to have, you can install anything you like from fireplaces to grills.

Outdoor Kitchen Designs and Advantages

The fun with outdoor kitchen lies in many things; you can freely cook whatever foods that you're afraid would smell within the whole house, you can easily set-up small parties like barbecue party or tea party, you can let everybody participate in the cooking and food preparations, you can setup any kitchen wares, utensils and tools of your choice.

But don't be too hasty! Though there are no limitations on the designs of your outdoor kitchen; there are few models and designs that require certain supplies that you may or may not add on other. Outdoor kitchen in Mediterranean designs, for example, may require herb and spice kits while Western outdoor kitchen designs may include toasters most of the time.




Basically, what will become of your outdoor kitchen largely depends on your needs; the foods you usually prepare, the guests you usually entertain, the wares and utensils you usually use as well as food preparation materials you usually need. These things will also account with your choosing of kitchen appliances.

Make sure that your outdoor kitchen has the following;

- functionality and grants an easier access to your indoors when you need to
- must have sets of wares, appliances and accessories that are just for outdoor use and are different from those intended indoors; such must be durable and be able to withstand weather conditions
- make sure anything that works with gas and electrics has convenient connections

Outdoor Kitchen Designs and Supplies Online

If you're having an outdoor kitchen fitted at your backyards or renovating an old design; you can mostly get help from outdoor kitchen books and the Internet. There are many designs and models available on many websites that are generated from computer animations to give you idea on what your outdoor kitchens should be. Such may also include guides on what the kitchen should have.

There are also many books, magazines and online sites about outdoor kitchen refitting and renovations for those who already have outdoor kitchen but wanted some redesigns; you may obtain guidelines on designs, appliances and utensils and how to maximize your new outdoor kitchen.

You can also find outdoor kitchen supplies and discounted offers for outdoor kitchen things and accessories online. You can browse hundreds of sites that offer wide variety of choices for your needs. Ordering and buying such items are also made easier with their toll-free numbers and delivery options.

35 Weird Facts You Never Heard of

1. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

2. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

3. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

4. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

5. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

6. There are more chickens than people in the world.

7. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

8. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.

10. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.

11. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

12. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

13. All 50 States are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

14. Almonds are a member of the peach family.

15. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

16. Maine is the only State whose name is just one syllable.

17. There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

18. The characters "Bert" and "Ernie" on Sesame Street were named after "Bert the cop" and "Ernie the taxi driver" in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life."

19. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

20. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

21. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

22. In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

23. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

24. Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula."

25. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

27. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

28. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

29. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

30. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

31. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

32. Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.

33. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

34. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.

35. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

Low Carb Ice Cream

As the low carb diet continues to create a booming impact to its dieters, the low carb diet arena then began to produce after the exciting six-part series of frozen desserts, and included in this food trend is the making of the reduced sugar and low carb ice creams.

Speaking of low carb ice cream, there are some low carb ice creams that can not be technically called "low carb ice cream" due to their cream contents, however, they are still low carb ice cream alike. Fortunately, the ice cream companies are now working hard to provide the ice cream consumers with frozen desserts that have reduced sugar contents, which ultimately reduce the products' calorie and carbohydrate contents.

And one of the good news that accompanied the production of the low carb ice cream is that most of the reduced sugar desserts really taste yummy. However, there are some studies which noted that reduced sugar does not eventually mean the treat is low in fat. But despite that possibility for the low carb ice cream, there are still some frozen desserts that are both low in fat and carbohydrates.

It is as well interesting to know that many studies about the low carb ice cream have considered that only half a cup of the low carb ice cream is a reasonable serving. However, it is still considerable that even if an ice cream carton trumpets that has low sugar or calorie levels, or has no added sugar, or even has low carbohydrates, they might have probably fat contents that would contribute a bad effect




So if you are one of those who love low carb ice creams, following are several low carb ice creams that are best recommended for family preference.

One of the noted best recommended low carb ice cream is the Edy's No Sugar Added Triple Chocolate low carb ice cream. Many who have tasted this low carb frozen dessert have considered it as low in fat, low in sugar, and tastes so yummy. And in fact, there are fudge sauce swirls in this chocolate ice cream.

And also of great interest is the Vanilla Ice Cream that can really be considered as a low carb ice cream for the fact that it contains a lower carbohydrates count for two carbohydrates per serving. This particular low carb frozen dessert is made by these ingredients: five egg yolks, a cup of Splenda, 1 and ¼ cups of heavy cream that is whipped.

All of these mentioned low carb ice creams are really considered as nice favorite treats. So you can keep yourself and slim down with these low carb frozen desserts.

Learn to Play Guitar Online - Discover Guitar Lesson Tools.

You can learn to play guitar online - and it's never been easier.

Whether you wish to become a jazzy crooner, a country strummer or a jamming rock star, the guitar is one of the easiest instruments to learn. There are a variety of lessons, tools and help out there in cyberspace. And, you can learn enough to strum along with your first song after only one lesson!

To learn how to play guitar online, you need several tools in addition to your guitar. Some guitar lessons and tools designed to assist you in learning how to play guitar online, include:

- Step-by-step guitar lessons.
- Chord lessons and chord charts.
- Guitar tab lessons.
- Song lyrics with chords.
- Guitar lesson ebooks and software programs.
- Sheet music
- Sound files and guitar jam tracks.
- Online guitar site forums.

If you are a beginner, look for online guitar lessons directed toward the new guitar player. These lessons should include the basics, such as; how to hold a guitar, choose a guitar, basic chord instruction, learning frets and how to choose guitar accessories.

Of course, the beginning guitar player will need charts for learning the various chords, so, at the very least, look for these visual aids. With practice, it won't be long before you'll be ready for intermediate guitar lessons.

The intermediate guitar player can also benefit from quality online guitar lessons and resources which illustrate the many chords. Furthermore, intermediate guitar players will be interested in learning to read guitar tablature.

There are many websites that offer free guitar lessons, but you may choose instead to get help with an online guitar lesson program. Although there's nothing wrong with teaching yourself guitar for free, many beginners find that it's easier, and faster, to learn to play guitar from a pro.<




With professional guitar instruction, you'll learn how to play guitar the correct way, while learning which mistakes and bad habits you must avoid. It's truely a highly effective way to learn to play guitar. You'll learn valuable tips and techniques designed to reduce the confusion and frustrations that many people experience when learning to play a new instrument.

By choosing a guitar lesson program, developed by a professional guitarist, you'll get all levels of training needed. Most professional online guitar lesson programs are very affordable, and come with all the "bells and whistles" of proper guitar learning.

In Closing:

It's never been easier to learn to play guitar online. Of course it takes practice, but many of the greatest guitarists taught themselves most of what they know about guitar playing. Because of the Internet, you can play along with guitar jam tracks, learn unusual chords, find chords and lyrics for songs you want to learn, and even learn to read guitar tablature.

You can even join an online guitar players forum to get one-on-one help, support and to ask questions. And because of the high demand of learning guitar online, if you choose to invest in an online guitar course, the prices have never been lower than they are today.

Family Tree Search: How To Find Your Ancestors

Are you planning on making your family tree? Are you curious to find where you come from and uncover your family's history throughout the years? You must know that it's not an easy task and you will need time and effort to create a complete family tree. You have to be organized and patient. But when you're done the feeling you get is really unique. So let's start.

I will try to give you some basic tips to get you started but you must remember that you need to research a lot unless there's already some kind of family tree created by some of your ancestors.

If you are serious, invest on a family tree software that will organize all the information you find. Paperwork may become overwhelming as you will notice.

You will need a lot of paper.

Use a single sheet of paper for every person/ancestor in your family. Then make small family groups of ancestors. You will write information you find for every person in the single piece of paper that belongs to that person. And you will write a summary of the information from all persons who belong to a family group to the sheet of paper that belongs to a certain family group. For example for your family group (e.g. you, your spouse and your 3 children), use 6 sheets of paper one for every member of the family and one for the family group (5 members and 1 family group).

In the ancestor sheet of paper you will write all kinds of information you find about that particular person: Date Born, Birthplace, Marriage Date, Date of Death, Father's Name, Mother's Name, Spouse Name and all other information you decide is worth mentioning in the family tree.

In the family group sheet of paper you will write a summary of the information you have gathered from all persons who belong to that family group: Number of members, Husband, Wife, Children and other kind of information you might find and want to include. <




Now it's time to work and research. Start with yourself and your family. Gather information from your parents and their children. Then your grandparents and their children. Remember to keep track of the family groups and the sheets of paper that belong to each ancestor. As you go back in time you may need to contact other relatives, family friends or even researchers. Ask them to help you fill the information on your sheets of paper. Tell them you are creating a family tree for your entire family.

It's a good idea to keep a family tree log of your actions. For example when you find a birth certificate update your family tree log writing the date that you found that death certificate and the person that death certificate belongs to.

Check out if there's already someone who has created a family tree for a certain family group. Use that information to save time but verify if the information you find is correct. Look for wedding books, divorce papers, birth or death certificates, funeral cards, awards, diplomas, school books, employment records, military records, medical records and anything that you might find useful. You can obtain a lot of information from such papers like dates, ages, parents, witnesses etc. If you are really motivated and determined to create a family tree, this journey to the past will be fascinating.

And now let's move on to the fun part. After you have gathered all the information you need, it's time to design your family tree. You may want to use paper and fill the information so that it is organized and easy to access. But I'm sure after all that paperwork you will definitely need help from a family tree software that will save you a lot of time.

Playstation 3 Review

It's black, it's shiny, it's a dust magnet and it is a console gaming system that offers so much more than merely the ability to play the state-of-the-art games.

Sony's catchphrase for the PlayStation 3 is PLAY B3YOND (aka Beyond) – and what the PS3 offers is a device that is capable of playing the latest PS 1080p games, surfing the Web, play blu-ray videos and so much more.

But first things first …

The local phone company tech showed up at the door to install DSL. Cool. Problem was the wireless modem was connected to the wall outlet upstairs and the PS3 was in the master bedroom (hooked up to the HDTV) downstairs. Look in the manual … Select Network Settings … Select Internet Connection Settings … Select "Wireless" and then press the X button. A firmware download later, the machine was surfing the Web, using a Logitech USB keyboard.

There were a couple of retail games included in the box – Genji: Days of the Blade and Resistance: Fall of Man. Genji was tried – nope, need to upgrade the firmware to the next iteration (from 1.00 to 1.02). Again, not a problem. Resistance comes packaged with the firmware upgrade and other games down the line will do the same thing (think PC and getting the latest iteration of DirectX with the game).

Sony ushers in its version of the next-gen console system with the launch of the PS3 on November 17. Pre-sales indicate the machine will sell out. The first 500,000 units shipped carried the blu-ray release of Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. Sony wants those who buy the console to see what blu-ray can do. Words don't do a blu-ray justice. It could be mentioned that blu-ray disks hold much more information than DVDs (DVDs can hold nine gigs of information while blu-ray disks can hold 50 gigs), and in the case of movies come the closest yet to a visual experience that is amazing. Imagine all that on a disk.

ps3

What's in the box …

The PS3 comes in two models, the lower-priced ($499) 20-gigabyte playstation 3 hard drive and the ($599) 60-gig playstation 3 hard drive. There are differences, aside from the hard-drive size between the two.

The 60-gig machine uses a Cell Broadband Engine and the main memory is 256-meg XDR RAM with 256-megs of GDDR3 VRAM. The hard drive is a 2.5" Serial ATA and the main input/output devices include a memory stick, SD and CompactFlash disks as well as four USB 2.0 ports. The 20-gig machine only has the USB ports, not the other input/output device ports. The hard drive size and the input/output configurations are the differences between the two machines.

The machine will support screen sizes of 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p with the ability to connect either through HDMI cables (not included) or the composite analog cables (5 connections – three for video and two audio channels). Both machines have the digital audio capabilities and the Blu-ray/DVD/CD (read-only) disc drives.

Blu-ray and Cell Broadband Engine …

The Cell Broadband Engine was developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba and is purported to deliver up to 10 times the processing speed of a typical home computer. The hype on the engine states that developers should be able to start approximating actual intelligence in games, rather than artificial intelligence, meaning the enemies should get a lot smarter. The engine is capable of performing 200 billion calculations per second and has a clock speed of 3.2 GHz.

The blu-ray disc offers next-gen media capabilities that can render high-definition graphical power to a receiver that is also HD. It can support 1080p, which is 1,080 lines of progressive scan – the highest resolution available. Blu-ray discs can carry more than five times the amount of data of a DVD. DVDs can hold up to 9 gigs of information but the blu-ray disc can hold 50 gigs – which translates, in gaming terms, into titles that will be much bigger in terms of detail or game scope. Blu-ray also supports 7.1 surround sound.

ps3

Sixaxis controller …

No more forced feedback from the controller – that has been replaced by gyroscopes in the peripheral that will enable players (if supported by the game) to use controller movement to affect the game. Let's face it – we have all tried to take corners in a racing game by tilting the controller in the direction we wanted to turn. With the sixaxis controller, that will be possible. Menus will be able to be accessed by tilting the controller, or flight controls will rely on the angle that the controller is at. In every other way, this is the PS control device. However, only one sixaxis controller comes in the box. <




PlayStation Network …

Signing up is fast and free. You can connect to the Internet via the CAT5 port or the wireless network card. Each account is broken into two parts – the Master account and the secondary account. On the network you can download demos, keep track of a friends, send messages, and chart game progress. There is an option to input billing information (credit card) so that you can buy games and such through the network and load them onto the hard drive of the machine.

Using the machine …

The PS3 has a crossbar menu on the boot screen. This is exactly the same as the PSP. You can store video, audio, downloads, browse the Internet, message friends, access the PlayStation store (where there are free downloads and downloads you would pay for as well), or launch a movie or game.

The disc simply slides into the front of the machine, a la a CD player in your car, and the buttons to eject it, or turn off the machine take only a whisper of a touch. Using the controller, which has a lithium battery in it and once charged can go wireless, the PS3 owner can quit the game by pressing the PS logo, holding it down and waiting for the prompts. The power supply is built into the casing, and while I puts out some heat, it does not feel as hot as the 360 external power supply.

Navigating the crossbar menus is a breeze and hooking up the PlayStation Network is also easy.

Anticipations and expectations ran high for the next-generation console systems and Sony has delivered. This machine is amazing.

Pros:
Blu-ray, Cell Broadband, storage, Web access, sixaxis controller and high-def graphical output all add up to a machine that is delicious to look at and delightful to play on, or just to watch movies on. The machine is easy to use, but the cover is a dust magnet and will need to be tended to (wait, isn't that a 'con?' Nope, the sleek machine design is a definite 'pro.')

Cons:
There is a marked difference in storage and input/output between the 20-gig and 60-gig machine. Everything else is the same, but with only a price point difference of $100, it seems silly to not buy the bigger machine. Clever marketing is not entirely too friendly in asking consumers to cough up that extra $100 for more machine. Sony did tout this as backward compatible with all PSOne and PS2 titles, but – while not confirmed – there does seem to be some titles that will not run on the machine.

Verdict: 9.7
The games, both as launch titles and those coming in the next few months, will be amazing and will take console gaming into the next generation. The controls are easily accessed and used – both on the PS sixaxis controller and the crossbar navigational system. This machine has so much that using it merely as a gaming device seems rather silly. No, it won't be a primary Web surfing tool (and it is recommended you get a USB keyboard for that anyway) but the PlayStation Network is a definite bonus. Blu-ray provides wondrous graphical output and the machine does play CDs as well as old PS titles (maybe not all, but still the majority). With online downloads, or games with the latest firmware support, this is a machine built to play, to use with entertainment media and to go online with.

Go ahead, spend the extra $100 for the bigger machine, you may be glad you did so – especially if you plan to store photos and such on the machine. About the only thing that would have made this better would be a R/W disc.

Sony has said that this is the foundation for the next 10 years. Maybe it is, maybe technology will outgrow it sooner, but one thing is certain – this machine fits today's entertainment needs wonderfully.


http://game-console-reviewz.com/ps3/ps3-review.html

Napa Valley: olives and olive oil

The history of olives and olive oil can be traced back to at the least biblical times. When the waters of the great flood subsided and Noah sent forth a dove it was an olive leaf she returned carrying in her mouth. It is known that as long as 6000 years ago olive oil was used as fuel in lamps. Maybe it was this olive oil that created such a beautiful Genie for Major Anthony Nelson to rescue in the popular television sitcom I Dream of Genie.

Today in modern grocery stores there are dozens of gourmet olives widely available. Gone are the days of canned black olives and green olives with pimentos as the only choices. For those of us who remember the days of opening a can of black olives and placing one on each finger then systematically biting them off here is the new olive.

Nicoises: Is a earthy rich olive commonly used in salad. The curing of this olive in red-wine vinegar gives it a distinctive taste.

Green olives with herbs de Provence: This vibrant citrus flavored olive is a delightful blend of herbs de Provence spices and large green olives. It is an excellent choice to use in surf dishes and with sweet spices.

Mount Athos green with Sicilian herbs: This is a second olive that utilizes herbs to dominate the pallet. Rosemary, garlic, mustard seed, and red pepper flakes give this olive a spicy appeal.




Mount Athos green stuffed with garlic: For a modern twist on the martini this olive is an excellent choice. It is stuffed with rich flavorful garlic and lends itself well to pizza as well as martinis.

Mount Athos green olives with sun-dried tomatoes: Sun-dried tomatoes give this heavy olive an intense flavor that is sophisticated and ideal for snacking.

Sun-dried olives: The drying of this olive gives it a rich flavor that blends wonderfully in sauces for serving over pasta.
Kalamatas: A tangy black olive cured in red-wine vinegar that can be from Italy or California. The California variety is denoted with a 'c' spelling rather than a 'k'.

Alfonsos: This robust winey tasting olive is soft and similar to the kalamata. It is a popular choice in antipasto salads.

Halkididis: Very similar in flavor to the kalamatas this olive is excellent blended with cream cheese and garlic for a flavorful dip.

Lucques: This meaty buttery olive contains pits but is still a wonderful choice with provolone cheese and bruchetta.

Choosing Eyeglasses

When looking for the perfect pair of eyeglasses, there is one main factor you should look for; how well they will look on your face. When you are looking for the right pair of eyeglasses, most people will normally try on every pair possible in order to judge which is best for them, but what if you could narrow down your search before you even step foot in the eyeglass store? Now you can. Simply determine your face shape and coloring and you will be able to establish which shape and eyeglass color will fit you best. Choosing the correct eyeglass frame for your face shape can be as simple as following the three keys that the Vision Council of America (VCA) has set forth in their Envision Yourself Program. These three keys are as follows: The frame shape should contrast well with the face shape, the frame size should be in scale with the face size and eyewear should repeat your personal best feature (such as a light color frame to match blonde hair). There are seven basic face shapes according to the VCA and when you can fully understand which shape your face falls under, you will be one step closer to determining your perfect pair of eyeglasses. The seven face shapes are: base-down triangle, base-up triangle, diamond, round, square, oval and oblong. Also, a good optician can help you when choosing the perfect pair of eyeglasses by following these guidelines.

Overview of Face Shapes and Eyeglass Frames

As stated above, there are seven basic face shapes and you should always be aware of which face shape you have in order to determine which eyeglasses will suit you best. Making sure that you determine which face shape you have and that you choose an eyeglass frame to fit your shape, you will want to follow the subsequent guidelines. A round face has curved lines and the width and length are in the same proportions with no angles. For choosing the correct eyeglasses for a round face, you should try angular narrow eyeglass frames to lengthen the shape of your face and look for a set of eyeglasses that has a wider structure than long, such as a rectangular shape. An oval face is believed to be the perfect face shape due to its equal proportions. To keep your faces physical balance, look for a set of eyeglasses that are as wide as the broadest part of the face. Base-down Triangle face shapes are narrow at the forehead and widen around the cheek and chin. To best proportion the top half of the face, choose an eyeglass that is wider in shape. A Base-up Triangle face has a wider top third and a narrow bottom third. To best adjust the scope of your face, chose a lighter color frame or possibly a rimless frame as these will draw less attention to the top third of your face.

A square face shape has a strong jaw line and a broad forehead while the width and length are generally in the same proportions. To make your face look longer, try narrow frames that have more width than depth. Diamond shape face structures are narrow at the jaw line and eye line while the cheekbones are generally wider. Even though this is the rarest face shape, you can still find eyeglasses to compliment it by choosing a frame that have detailed brow-lines or are rimless and possibly cat-eye shaped. The oblong face shape is commonly longer than it is wide and has a long straight cheek line. To make the face seem shorter and more balanced, try a frame that has top-to-bottom depth so it will add depth to the face structure.




Colors of your skin, hair and eyes will effect your decision

Skin tone is a primary factor in determining the right eyeglass color. All tones fall into two different color bases – blue (cool) or yellow (warm). A cool complexion has blue or pink traces while a warm complexion has a "peaches and cream" or yellow shine. Eye color is usually a second rate reason in choosing your eyeglasses due to the wide range of eye colors. For example, blue eyes can range from a cool almost violet color all the way to a pale-blue, which is a warm color. Brown eyes can range from a light shade which is cool, all the way to a dark almost black warm color. Hair colors are also considered either cool or warm. Strawberry Blond, white, salt-and-pepper gray, and light brown are all cool colors. Golden blond, flat black, brown-gold, red and "dirty" gray are all considered warm colors. Once you have determined if you are a cool or warm color, you will then be able to find the eyeglasses that will best suit your needs. Some examples of frame colors for cool coloring are black, dark brown, blue-gray, plum, magenta, blue and a dark turquoise. Warm coloring will be best fit to wear frames with the following colors: gold, copper, peach, light tan, orange, coral, bright red, off-white, warm blue and light turquoise.

Final decision when choosing your eyeglasses

At the end of the day, you must be completely happy with your choice in eyeglasses because you will be the only one wearing them every day and you will need to be content with your choice so that you will want to wear your eyeglasses daily and in turn will keep your eyesight the same or better in the long run. This is a guideline to help you choose the best frame to suit your shape and coloring, but you ultimately will be the one making the deciding vote. We do recommend that you follow this format when choosing your eyeglasses as well as do the Vision Council of America (VCA). Remembering to choose the right eyeglass frames based upon your face shape and your warm or cool coloring will ensure that you are selecting the correct eyeglasses.

The Joe Loss Orchestra 75 And Still 'In The Mood' - The Legend Lives On!

In 1930 a talented musician aged 21 decided to form a dance band, and hey presto, the country's, if not the world's, longest serving entertainment unit was born and has been doing jus that non-stop ever since! The Joe Loss Orchestra now directed by Todd Miller is still appearing countrywide to this day.

I say "entertaining" because Joe always said, "although we are in the music business we are also entertainers." When Joe became ill in 1990 he asked Todd to take over the Orchestra and not one booking was cancelled. Todd himself joined the Orchestra in 1972 and is now regarded by many as one of the best front men in the business.

It was in 1969 that Joe decided, for financial reasons, that he would reduce the personnel to ten musicians and three vocalists. He felt that when the moment was right he would re-assemble the big band. Indeed to this day there are many musicians playing in present day big bands who appear in the Joe Loss Big Band whenever the band is booked.

On the subject of big bands and their leaders there is an amusing story relating to Joe and Billy Cotton. It appears that one morning just after the end of the war, Joe arrived home after a gig just before breakfast. Having had a quick cup of tea and still in pyjamas and dressing gown, who should be knocking at the front door other than Billy Cotton with a brand new motor car. He insisted on taking Joe for a spin and although the weather conditions were pretty grim, bitterly cold and with thick snow off they went into the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, before too long the car ran out of petrol (it still being rationed that time didn't help) and Billy left Joe in the car whilst he set off in the quest for a garage. There sat Joe as cold as ice and with teeth chattering when along came the local bobby. Pushing his bicycle, he enquired as to why Joe was sitting in the car in freezing weather wearing his pyjamas and dressing gown. Joe informed the police constable that he was Joe Loss and that Billy Cotton had gone off to try and get some petrol. By the look in his eye the constable was finding it hard to believe such a story, until Billy re-appeared with a can of petrol and convinced the sceptic that the story was indeed true! The constable cycled away with a smile on his face with two prized autographs in his notebook!

But I digress. It was with an eight-piece band, playing in the style of Oscar Rabin's Romany Band at the Astoria Ballroom, that Joe took the first steps to becoming well-known. His growing popularity brought him a job at the Kit Kat Club where he made many of the BBC outside broadcasts. During his time there he raised the personnel to 11 plus a young lady vocalist – a croonette as they were known. She made her first broadcast singing "Red Sails In The Sunset" the top hit of the day in 1935. She was only 18 and in years to come became the "Forces Favourite" none other than Vera Lynn.




After a long residency in London Joe began to tour the music halls, as did many bands of the day. During the war he took the band to entertain the troops around the UK and eventually to France and Holland. In 1946 Joe began a regular residency in the Isle of Man from May until the end of September, which lasted until 1959. With the coming together of the ITV companies Joe and the orchestra became the house band for ABC and opened up all of the television regions throughout the UK during the period from 1956 to 1960. They were to be seen regularly on television often up to four times a week. This was followed by a long residency at the Hammersmith Palais until August 1969 broken only by an 18-week season at the Empire Leicester Square and 12months at the Lyceum in 1967. They then moved on to the Empire until November 1970 at which point Joe decided to retire. He told Sam Watmough, the current manager of the band, who joined in 1956 that during the meeting he was to inform the band of his decision.

Joe opened his speech saying "Gentlemen, we shall be leaving the Empire and Mecca in 6 weeks time on November 30th." This brought Stan Pickstock, lead trumpet, to his feet, Stan had been with the band since 1961, who said, "bloody great, now we can get back on the road," at which point the band applauded.

Joe however was taken aback and said, "I didn't think you would want to go on the road again, but if you do that's fine." So the Joe Loss Orchestra was back on the road once again and had remained so ever since.

When Joe first became too ill to travel To0dd fronted the Orchestra until Joe eventually retired on January 31st 1990, two weeks before his 81st birthday. Joe passed away on 8th June, many thought that the Orchestra would not carry on without him, how wrong they were! They remain one of the most popular and busiest bands in the country. To quote Sam Watmough, who had been Joe's manager for 30 years, "I knew what Joe wanted and we are still proud to be known as Todd Miller and the Joe Loss Orchestra." As Todd himself says, "We must be doing something right!"

Relaxed And Happy American Located; Agrees To Brief Interview

Despite the troubling news that assails us each day and seems bent on convincing us we should all be the tense and unhappy recipients of the worldwide outrages it forwards, we remained confident that maybe somewhere there is still at least one American who is relaxed and happy.

Intent on locating the indomitable soul, should there still be one, we spread out across the nation and, just as we were ready to drop our shoulders and sigh with hopelessness, we saw a man walking down the street of a small resort town in the Northeast, singing to himself the song Louis Armstrong made eternally popular with his scratchy but heartfelt voice, "What A Wonderful World."

Suspecting we might, at long last, have our man, we introduced ourselves and asked if he'd consent to an interview.

"Sure," he replied, "but only a short one. So I can stay relaxed and happy."

For whatever it may do to help you achieve your own peace and bliss, the interview follows. He reveals, among other things, that he concentrates, in a surprising way, on subjects that appear in the dictionary under the letter "F."

NewsLaugh: Just for the record, we understand you're an American who's actually relaxed and happy?

Relaxed, Happy American: Yes, I am. In fact, I'm so relaxed I can't remember when I had a tension headache. So darn happy I smile all the time, so often, in fact, sometimes I feel like an idiot. Of course, I'm not.

NewsLaugh: You're sure of that?

Relaxed, Happy American: Sure, I'm sure. I'm just happy to be alive – privileged, in fact, to be part of the great unfolding of life on the earth and in the universe. Seems like a big thing to be part of, if you ask me, especially since I began as a tiny sperm, swimming for its life, and an egg, wondering if and when that spirited competitor might arrive.

NewsLaugh: Interesting perspective. May I ask how, in this tense and troubled world, you've managed to remain relaxed and happy?

Relaxed, Happy American: Well, the first thing you need is what the French call distance.

NewsLaugh: Does that mean you just don't pay much attention to what's going on in the world?

Relaxed, Happy American: Heck, no! I allow a certain space for it, just so I know what's happening, sort of like putting my hand on a coffee pot just long enough to feel the temperature, but not so long I get a blister.

NewsLaugh: Can you explain how you manage to preserve such perspective?

Relaxed, Happy American: Lots of perspective. For instance, if my body represented my life, I allocate for daily events something about the size of my index finger.

NewsLaugh: Your index finger? Well, then, how about the rest of you?

Relaxed, Happy American: Oh, that's the wholeness of my life, start to finish, I figure, maybe eighty some years – big space, especially compared to the idea of living for the moment, which, to me, is the perfect prescription for becoming way too frazzled.

Newslaugh: What about the idea that only the present moment exists?

Relaxed, Happy American: Oh, come on, that's like looking at your lawn and saying the only blade of grass is the one that's currently tickling your toe. <




Newslaugh: Fair enough. So how does that apply to your everyday life?

Relaxed, Happy American: Easy. I never let anything in the outside world or, for that matter, in my personal life, get bigger than the wholeness, of which every event or aspect is, logically, only a part. In fact, I never subordinate my whole life to anything, even when somebody I love is behaving incomprehensibly. Otherwise, I would be doing an injustice to it. Comprende?

NewsLaugh: Si, Senor!

Relaxed, Happy American: Muchas Gracias.

NewsLaugh: I notice you spoke a little Spanish there?

Relaxed, Happy American: So did you.

NewsLaugh: Very little. But you don't look Hispanic?

Relaxed, Happy American: No, I don't, and for a good reason. I'm not. But my building is staffed with people whose first language is Espanol. So I speak a little of it to get preferential treatment. For instance, my air conditioner is already ready for summer. How about you?

Newslaugh: It's how I ingratiate myself at Mexican restaurants. But back to the taco we were talking about. Certainly, there are other things that contribute to your relaxed and happy attitude?

Relaxed, Happy American: Yes, there are. I actually feel I owe it to my life to do the best I can with my mind, my feelings, and my body – if the three can be separated – and I get so many emotional rewards from what that inspires me to do, they make me happy.

NewsLaugh: Sounds like a nice pastime. Do you ever think it may be a little self-centered?

Relaxed, Happy American: Oh, come on. There's a difference between selfishness and enlightened self-realization, because the second one includes consideration for other people, that is, if you'd like to have any of them in your life, especially dates.

NewLaugh: OK, enough about daily events. Mind if we talk a little about the big things that can bum people out, like intimations of mortality?

Relaxed, Happy American: No problem! Hardly give it a thought. Just figure if I take good care of life, whatever made it will take good care of me, that is, if it takes care of anybody beyond just providing the stage, the actors, and the food.

NewsLaugh: Fair enough. Would you like to add anything else?

Relaxed, Happy American: Oh, one more thing. When you're down and out, you have to concentrate on the letter "F."

NewsLaugh: The letter "F"? Why so?

Relaxed, Happy American: If you analyze the alphabet, you find a surprising concentration of things there that make people relaxed and happy.

NewsLaugh: Such as?

Relaxed, Happy American: Oh, food, family, friends, words like fabulous and fantastic.

NewsLaugh: And?

Relaxed, Happy American: Well, fine wine, fiction, philosophy, spelled, for consistency, with an "f."

NewsLaugh: And?

Relaxed, Happy American: Short interviews.

Challenges of ESL Teaching

"Let us take this example - Your application has been selected for an ESL Job. Landing one of the ESL Jobs in Korea has always been a dream for you. Ever since you have been selected for this job, you are over the moon and already celebrating the success of your career. If you are going to prune into your ESL Job without any prior preparation, you are bound to head for trouble.

ESL Teaching Challenges

One of the big aspects of consideration for you would be the challenges you are expected to face in your ESL Job. Sitting at home, it could be very easy for you to estimate the ease of the task. When you set your first foot on the soil of your profession, you would realize the problems that lay in store for you. This is where an ESL Job is very frightening. Here's a drill down on the kind of challenges faced by a qualified teacher in an ESL Job:

People – The biggest success factors for an ESL Job would be on how you adapt to the people over there. Assuming that you would be leaving your country and teaching people from the other country English, you would need to adjust to the country's people. More than that, the adjustment to people's mindset has been the biggest challenge for an ESL Job.

Use of Technology – People residing in these countries use technology but from their perspective. You may be right in using technology for educating them, but at the end of the day it may not be perceived too well by the people in that country. Hence, your use of technology should be tailored to their use of technology for you to get any tangible benefit out of your ESL Job. For example, ESL Jobs Korea is a prime example towards this aspect.




Korea is one of the technologically advanced countries producing high quality technology goods. Take a look at their instructions manual for any product manufactured in Korea. You would not be able to find a single word in English. The biggest drawback is – People are accustomed to seeing the Korean language and any new language infused into them would not be met kindly.

Learn their language – One of the aspects of an ESL Job is to learn the language of the audience that you are targeting. This may not be a tough job when you teach locally in your country as you would be able to learn the dialect of the provinces. For ESL Jobs Korea, try learning the Korean Dialect. I bet you would spend at least 1000 hours doing so. At the end of the day, if you wish to ask people to communicate with you in English, you must still be able to get the message across to the audience.

Learning to cope with ESL Challenges is one of the prime aspects of any ESL Job. Please note that depending on the country where you get an ESL Job, the set of challenges would be widely different. The key is for you to adapt well to the challenges."

Online Education Is Not Right for You

Probably the greatest benefit of online education is the incredible convenience that it offers. You can do your schoolwork and studying based on your schedule. No more 8am classes, no more 4-hour lectures.

This obviously has huge implications for students who have jobs, a family to take care of, or both. Instead of trying to juggle your classes around a 9-to-5 job or your son's soccer practice, distance learning gives you the flexibility to take your classes when you can fit them in.

Although earning a degree through online education brings many advantages, you may not suit for this type of education mode. Online education is not right for you if you are group under these categories:



You Are a Social Butterfly

If you are a social butterfly who flourishes when others are around, attending an online course may not be for you. If, on the other hand, you are quiet and reserved, online education can be your ticket to success.





You tend to quit a project due to lack of motivation

If you can not stay motivated on your own, an online institution is not your best choice for getting a degree. To be success as an online student, you must be able to self-motivate, and complete projects or assignment to meet your preset schedule.





You like to listen to lecture instead of reading it

In online learning environment, you are expected to master material through reading alone. Although some online courses offer video recordings and audio clips, most programs require that students understand a large amount of information that is only available through written text. Hence, if your way of learning is better with listening to the lectures and taking notes, then traditional class-based courses will suit you better.








You are not interest in surfing internet

Although, many people are surfing internet everyday, but some are surfing internet just because they do to search for information and they feel surfing internet is not a fun but a need, when there is no need, they will stay away from internet. If you are in this group, online education may not right for you because online courses require you to understand more than just how to log onto the Internet. You need to know how to use chat rooms, message boards, forums and instant messaging.

You find hard in learning of new computer programs



Depending on the online course you take, you may need to download new software programs. If you find it difficult to learn new computer technology, you'll need to either set aside more time for learning, or take a traditional class.

You do not like to arrange you own schedule of study

You prefer to follow a fix and pre-arrange schedule for your study. The freedom of working at your own schedule may cause you to put off your assignments or wait until the last moment to write your papers.

In Summary

Remember that online learning is not for everyone and, while it is an excellent choice for some, others will always struggle with learning independently. If after comparing your personality and habits, online degree is not right for you, then traditional classes should be your better option.

The future is another country

t's grey and chilly. Throngs of thirty and forty somethings lumber through the drizzle to an agricultural hall outside Coventry. I pay the £11 entrance fee and once through the door everything changes. Sunny optimism illumines the interior. Maple-leaf flags hang like bunting while red, white and blue balloons jostle for attention with inflatable kangaroos and surfboards. This is Emigrate, the largest migration exhibition in Britain, at which financial advisers, estate agents and lawyers from more than 60 organisations offer advice to 7,000 visitors on how to gain entry to new lands of opportunity.

I join the queue of visitors who are eager to discover how to clinch the golden ticket: an Australian visa. We take our seats and the game-show begins. On the stage, a smiling Australian migration lawyer talks up the prize of a one-way ticket to the land of surf, sun and beer. "Once you get a visa you can sit on the beach for the rest of your life. You don't need to work if you don't want to."

At Emigrate, points win prizes. Later in the day, at stalls dotted around the fair, there are talks on how to gain the differing number of points required for entry by Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Each country has its own list of desired skills and professions and the fair's walls are pasted with posters cataloguing each nation's sought-after occupations. Are you a bee-keeper? A civil servant? Welcome to New Zealand. Hairdresser? Last year Australia was desperate for you.

Now, after admitting large numbers of Chinese and Indian scissor-hands, hairdressers are no longer required. Qualification for permanent residence can be a lottery but there are some certainties. All countries allocate more points for youth, English-language fluency and education. And if you are an entrepreneur with thousands to invest in your new country, Australia, New Zealand and America all want you.

Myths about points swirl around the show. To demonstrate the abundant migration misinformation, the presenter, Ben Willis, a migration agent and lawyer, asks, Paul McKenna-style, for a guinea pig who believes he or she has the 120 points to qualify for permanent Australian residency.

The victim says confidently that he is an engineer, aware Australia is desperate for them. "Do you have a BSc in engineering?" the presenter asks. "No. I switched careers later and took an MSc in engineering," he replies. It is not enough. The BSc would have given him the necessary points but the MSc counts for less.

The volunteer's face falls. The presenter looks vindicated: "My main message is: don't assume you will manage to get 120 points," he says.

Registering the wavering mood in the audience, he attempts to gee them up: "It's worth going through the hurdles or else you'll be stuck on the M1 thinking, 'what am I doing here?' Australia is the best place to be. Once you've made a decision to come, just do it."

To keep wannabe migrants' eyes fixed on the prize, we are introduced by video link-ups to Brits who have leapt through the migration hoops to settle in new countries. At one talk, entitled "Chat with Brits in Canada", we're presented to Maxine, a migratory role model who moved from London to Ontario two years ago: "She got a whopping 79 points! She only needed 67 to qualify!". Canada's craving for her postgraduate social work qualifications ratcheted up her score.

It's a gold rush for the emigration industry. The Office for National Statistics' figures show more British citizens left the UK in 2006 - 207,000 - than in any year since records began in 1991: 49,000 for new lives in Australia, 71,000 upped sticks for EU countries, mainly Spain and France, and 16,000 to the US.

More and more people hanker to move abroad. A 2006 BBC survey found that 13 per cent of 1,000 people asked were planning to emigrate in the near future, twice the number who wanted to leave when the same question was asked three years before.

Yet the British press and politicians have been so mesmerised by the rising number of non-British nationals arriving - which the ONS recently showed had swelled to 510,000 immigrants in 2006, double the number a decade ago - that the British exodus has been ignored.

Of course, emigrating Brits are nothing new. At the height of its imperial power in the 19th century, Britain experienced mass migration not only to colonies and dominions such as India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa but also to countries with colonial connections, such as the US.

Professor Tim Hatton, a labour market economist from Essex University, estimates the annual emigration rate in the years before the first world war at around 5.3 UK citizens out of every 1,000, though this included a disproportionately high share of Irish emigrants when Ireland was part of the UK.

Even today, according to Jim Hammerton, emeritus professor at Melbourne's La Trobe University, who has written extensively on the history of migration, Brits are cashing in on the "colonial dividend", empire having established "common language and family ties to countries".

A couple at the Emigrate fair support Professor Hammerton's observation. The woman, in her late 30s, pacifying her toddler with an apple, tells me her parents came to Britain from India in the 1960s, and her husband had lived in Australia as a child for 10 years before they met: "I know it's possible to uproot a family and be happy."

Brits are departing their home country in greater numbers than the French or Americans.

The Institute for Public Policy Research estimated that 5.5m British nationals, or just over 9 per cent of the UK population, were living overseas permanently in 2006. It dwarfs the number of French living overseas, which is only about 1.2m, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Yet even the French eclipse the Americans: the OECD finds 1.2m US-born citizens, out of a population of 300m, live overseas, making the US diaspora proportionally much smaller than the French or British.

While the legacy of empire has provided Brits with some choice destinations, this alone can't explain the difference. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, IPPR's director of research strategy, suggests the British are more outward-facing than other nationalities: "Brits care about international issues - it's in British newspapers. Whereas American and French societies are more insular." This, he says, helps explain why Britain has, in relative terms, one of the largest diasporas in the world.

If Brits, as Sriskandarajah says, do have a wider view of the world, then cheap travel and improved communications make abroad not as foreign as it used to be and emigrating less daunting.

In fact, for many middle-class families across the world, living abroad is a rite of passage, whether it is gap-year students digging wells in African villages, high-flyers studying for MBAs or investment bankers accepting foreign postings. <




Dr Sam Scott, a lecturer in social geography at Liverpool University who has researched European migration, suggests the experience of foreign living and culture is a social aspiration and may be a way some families give themselves a mark of cultural sophistication. He says: "People's social and cultural experiences abroad are useful as a form of class 'capital'. It's about how you change as a person and the networks you enter that set you out as different."

The pursuit of this badge of distinction increases the likelihood of accidental migration, which takes place when the intention to return home is re-routed by, say, romance. Prof Hammerton suggests growing numbers of accidental migrants are making redundant the distinction of permanent migrants and short-term expats living overseas on a work posting.

How, for example, to define Ian Corfield? He is a 35-year-old chief executive of Bank West's retail division, who moved with his wife and two young children from central London to Perth after HBOS, which owns Bank West, offered him the post. "We always wanted to live and work abroad. We weren't sick of Britain; we just wanted to experience a different environment and culture," he says.

For the moment they're keeping their London house but think they might sell up and make Australia their permanent home, thereby blurring the demarcation between expat and migrant.

I ask Paul Beasley, editor of Emigrate, a magazine offering migration news and advice, why so many Britons want to leave. He says unemployment is not an issue but taxes and house prices motivate people to up sticks. "The property market is a big factor; they want their children to be able to get a foot on the property ladder. There is a dream, buoyed by the strong pound, that people can buy their houses outright abroad and have a nest egg."

Indeed, everyone I speak to at the fair raises the issue. At one stand, I ask what I could buy if I sold my one-bed London flat. "You could get a 3,000 square feet, four-bedroom house on an acre of land and three-car garage - a mini-mansion if you moved to Saskatoon," the Canadian consultant enthuses proudly.

Foreign homes allow us to experiment with migration. A survey by Barclays bank showed that 35 per cent of people buying a holiday home planned to relocate or retire there. David Bloor, a 49-year-old maths teacher from east Yorkshire, says that buying a property in Turkey has given him a taste for life abroad and now he hopes to settle farther away. Some commentators dub the fashion for buying overseas homes "pre-emigrating".

Professionals on overseas postings and Brits in possession of foreign properties are making British migration more middle class than it used to be, according to Prof Hammerton. He says traditional "migrations of austerity", when people felt driven out of Britain by hardship, notably in the postwar years and high unemployment in the 1980s, have given way to "migrations of prosperity" as people quit a Britain that is relatively affluent with high employment.

Prof Hammerton also says that migrants are both more wealthy and skilled than was the case in the 1950s. In part this reflects the fact that the middle class is bigger than it used to be and that tougher immigration policies in settler countries weed out lesser-skilled potential migrants, consigning the "Ten Pound Poms", British migrants who received financial assistance from the Australian government, to the history books.

However, if some Brits are migrating by accident after relaxing in their Provence holiday home or putting down family or work roots abroad, most people I meet at the Emigrate fair just want to leave Britain. There is something rather melancholy in visiting a fair with hundreds of people who want to leave the country.

Some of the would-be emigrants say they are fed up with Britain's "uncontrolled immigration".

The Elstons, a couple in their 30s from Nottingham, have been thinking of moving to Australia for the past 18 months. At first it was Canada, but then they changed their minds. "Canada and Australia are very different," I suggest. They shrug their shoulders. "It's more that we want to leave this country than go to another country. I pay too much tax. There are too many foreigners coming to this country due to EU restrictions being lifted," Mr Elston explains. I ask him if he doesn't see the irony that he will be an immigrant in Australia - the kind of person he is complaining about. He shakes his head: "I prefer other countries' immigration policies. They're controlled."

According to Paul Beasley, Gordon Brown's decision not to call an election until 2009 might exacerbate the exodus, not because of the prime minister himself, but because "when a political party has been in power for a number of years, people start to become disillusioned; they begin to feel that politics is a dead game".

But talk around the fair isn't just of policy and property. People at Emigrate speak of their motives for migration in therapeutic and emotional language. They want "space to breathe" to "get away from stress".

Beasley sums it up: "People just feel that life in Britain is becoming more stressful, more difficult. They believe that moving overseas will balance their lives and they will have much less stress."

I talk to Paul, a 43-year-old graphic designer who is planning to move to Australia with his wife and four children: "We want a better quality of life. I don't like Britain. My spare time is pressured. You live for your holiday. I want to be in an environment where the lifestyle is slowed down and you can take advantage of time to be with your family."

Paul's remarks appear to confirm Prof Hammerton's verdict that the "migration of prosperity" has replaced the "migration of austerity". Aspiration for a better quality of life these days need not be a hankering for increased riches but a reaction against the perceived stress of modern life.

Stress has become a "virulent epidemic" in British society, according to David Wainwright and Michael Calnan, authors of a study entitled Work Stress, published in 2002. The idea of being "stressed out" grips the nation. It radically alters how people look at work and the world around them. Work in pressurised Britain seems undesirable, and countries that appear to offer a more relaxed lifestyle are attractive.

Some people I met at the fair lusted for adventure but most were fed up and desperate for sunnier climes and eager to escape the stresses of life in Britain. So much unhappiness made me desperate to get away and I plonked myself in a mini-cab. It wasn't just me that felt infected by the visitors' discontent. "Everyone's been so miserable," my cab driver remarked. "I'll tell you what, we're better off without that whingeing lot. Give me the immigrants any day."

Cover

Isang araw, dumating ang housemate ko sa bahay habang nakatambay ako sa dining area. May bitbit na bagong boylet, na nang lumaon, aking napag-alaman ay 23 years old. Pogi at straight-acting si boylet, na tatawagin nating CJ.

May katawan si CJ, di kataasan, pero matikas. Lalake kumilos at magsalita. Tahimik noong una, pero nang makausap ko siya habang naghahapunan, unti-unti na rin kaming nagkapalagayan ng loob. Naramdaman ko na mabait si CJ, at parang uhaw sa kausap na may sensibilidad. “Kuwento ka pa, Kuya,” ang lagi niyang inuulit. Alam niyang sa tagal ko na bilang isang well-adjusted na bading, marami akong maishe-share sa kanya. So ako naman, bilang isang mabuting housemate sa kanyang iniirog, kuwento naman.

Hanggang sa tuluyan na ngang nag-enjoy si CJ. Nag-ayang uminom. Naglabas ng inuming nakalalasing si housemate. Toma kung toma.

Nainggit ako nang bahagya dahil sa harapan ko, habang nag-iinuman kami, nagho-holding hands sina housemate at CJ. Ang cute nila. Parehong butch at straight-acting, pero ang sweet sa isa’t isa. Ang saya. Mas nanaig ang pagkagiliw ko sa kanilang dalawa. Bumabangka ako ng kuwento habang taimtim na nakikinig, at pagkaminsa’y nagtatanong si CJ. As usual, si housemate, listener lang at di masyadong sumasabat.

Dumating sa puntong medyo may tama na si CJ. Kuwento na rin siya ng kuwento. Napansin ko ang cellphone niya. Nagandahan ako sa casing, kulay dilaw. “Ang ganda naman ng cellphone mo, ang cool ng kulay,” sabay kuha sa kanya. Napansin ko ang litrato bilang wallpaper sa cellphone niya. Si CJ at isang babae.

“Sino ito?” tanong ko.

“Girlfriend ko,” mabilis niyang sagot.

“Girlfriend?”

“Oo, girlfriend. Pang cover.”

Natameme ako. Itinuloy niya ang sagot niya.

“Ganyan talaga, dapat may girlfriend. Para di ako mabuko.”

Di pa rin ako nakapagsalita.

Nalungkot ako ng husto, pakiramdam ko sinuntok ako sa dibdib ng dalawang beses.

“Na-sad naman ako,” sabi ko, sabay paalam. “Akyat na ako, may isusulat lang ako.”

“Huy, baka naman i-blog mo ako ha!” habol ni CJ.

“Oo, ibo-blog nga kita,” sagot ko, ayaw ko kasing magsinungaling.

“Sige, basta palitan mo lang pangalan ko.”

Natawa ako, pero tawang di nakaibsan ng naramdaman kong lungkot.

Naisip ko yung girlfriend. 19 years old lang. Hindi niya alam na ang boyfriend niya, may ibang lalake.

Bakla ako, oo, at naniniwala akong isa akong mabuting tao. Ayaw na ayaw kong manloko, at nalulungkot ako pag nakakakita ako ng mga taong nanloloko, o niloloko. Alam ko na takot lang si CJ. Pero nakakalungkot pa rin. Sana, ma-realize ni CJ na hindi niya kailangang gumamit ng cover. Na hindi niya kailangan manakit para maiwasang masaktan.

REGRETS OF THE DYING

It’s Sunday, a downtime for many of us, a perfect opportunity to be more reflective than usual. Here’s a nice article to kickstart your muni-muni moments. (Written by Bronnie Ware.)

* * *

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.


2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Villas @ Shangril-la Boracay

Villas @ Shangril-la Boracay

Flowers Inside Shangri-la's Villa

Flowers Inside Shangri-la's Villa

november 11, 2010

november 11, 2010

november 23, 2010

november 23, 2010

November 30, 2010

November 30, 2010

December 7, 2010

December 7, 2010

12-14-10

12-14-10

1.11.11

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1-18-11

1-18-11

Latest Pix At Shang 1-31-11

Latest Pix At Shang 1-31-11

4-11-11

4-11-11

Animalistic Appeal

Animalistic Appeal

From Tanawin To Lobby

Dumog Dumog Contest

Eggplant Softening Contest

Who Are They 2?

Who Are They?

John Joel Siera a.k.a. Halhal

My Latest Pix

Joke Lang

Right Here Waiting

Novena in Urgent Need To The Infant Jesus of Prague

(To be said at the same time for nine consecutive hours, or for nine days)

O JESUS, who have said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.

Mention your request

O JESUS, "All that you ask of the Father in my Name, he will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask the Father in your Name that my prayer be granted.

Mention your request.

O JESUS, who have said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.

Mention your request.

Love, my Love, he’s still out there.

I can still feel, my Love, I can still feel. Those tears I just shed are proof that this heart of mine is still capable of loving. These past days I’ve been noticing how I was repeatedly telling myself that I’m exhausted. It’s as if every fiber of my beating heart is but a pulp of dry straw, and at any moment, will snap into powdery bits. Exhausted to the point of giving up on this quest for love.

Standing on the verge of hopelessness, that abyss not unfamiliar to a lot of people like us, I remind myself, Love, my Love, she’s still out there.

And suddenly, I thought, perhaps you, my Love, are exhausted too. Exhausted because for sure, for some time, you’ve also been looking for me. For sure, you are also getting impatient as the wait gets longer, and lonelier. Perhaps, you too, are standing on the same verge of hopelessness, worn out, contemplating on jumping over to that dark, damp abyss of jadedness.

No my Love, don’t. I am here. We just haven’t met yet. Or, maybe we have, but that we haven’t realized the Grand Destiny we’re meant to live, together, as life partners. But once we do, once you recognize it’s me, once I recognize it’s you, my Love, I shall lay your head on my lap. Tell you, before anything else, to rest and regain your strength. Recharge, and be at your very best. Because our journey together will be long, arduous, maybe even more exhausting, yet because I know we’re traveling together, it shall be, I promise to make it, well worth every little f*ckin’ waiting moment we spent looking for each other.

My Feelings And Emotions

I notice that whenever I feel bad, it’s mostly because I am not aligned with my true self.

Today, I’ve been feeling quite antsy, thinking of this and that, what would this person say if I do this, or that; would he think I’m weird, or wacky, or wobbly inside my head? I feel that there is a strong connection between my general feeling (an emotion, like mad or glad, afraid or sad) and my alignment with who I truly am. More often than not I find myself joyous when I am in my most aligned state — when I am most relaxed, when I am surrounded by people who accept me for who I am, warts and all, when I myself accept whoever I want to be at that moment whether or not it is consistent with the self-image I conjure in my head. On the other hand, I feel uncomfortable, a general tinge of unease, when I resist, when I stress over things I know I have no control over, when I am not true to myself.

Little by little, I notice that I am beginning to trust more my feelings and emotions. I have always believed that my intellect, my reasoning, my logical self is my best friend, one of my strongest suit. But without discounting its importance, I have started to notice that my feelings, my emotions have always been a strong ally as well. Bad news is that I’ve never really honored it as much as it deserves.

Now I’m wondering, how could I be more in touch with my feelings? How can I give it more prominence in the way I make decisions, and in the way I relate to people? How can I elevate it at least to a stature equal if not above that of my reasoning powers?

Would any of you have ideas? Have you encountered such thoughts as well?

Expression lang po!

Sana maipinta ng isang litrato ang buong katauhan ko
para maipakita ko….
higit sa anu pa man
ang taglay kong katangian…
sana mapakita nito ang tunay na nararamdaman
pati na rin ang kaya nitong gawin para sa ‘yo…
sana masabi nito na tunay akong
nagmamahal…
nagbibigay…
at nagpapatawad…
sana’y maipamulat nito na kaya din nyang
masaktan…
lumuha…
at mabigo…
Sana habang pinagmamasdan mo…
maramdaman mo na umaasa ako at naghihintay
ng pagbabago
ng pangako
ng pagmamahal na galing sa ‘yo
Kung magkagayunman…. Di ko na kailangang sabihing… totoong tao ako….

Seryoso ako kung seryoso ka...
Mamahalin kita kung mamahalin mo din ako...
kung libog lang yan... mmm... aaahhh... sige na nga... pwede na din...

Kung matapos mong malasahan ang lahat ng kalibugan sa mundo...
matapos kang mabigo sa lahat ng inaasam mong relasyon....
at kung sa palagay mong pagod ka na...
at nagtatanong kung meron pa ba?

pahinga ka na... sasamahan kita....
hindi ako nangangako ng magandang paglalakbay....

"I cant change the direction of the wind but I can always adjust my sail to always meet my destination"

magtulungan tayo...


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How to make your wish come true - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

How to make your wish come true - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

To make your wish come true, visit http://www.gogeni.com and make a wish.